Shew Designhttp://shew-design.com/blog
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 04:02:04 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.7all together nowhttp://shew-design.com/blog/2014/09/organic-marketing/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2014/09/organic-marketing/#commentsTue, 09 Sep 2014 16:01:21 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=5122With so much marketing taking place through a multitude of different mediums and applications, the tendency is for messages to become ever more fragmented — and more easily forgotten.

start with a vision

Don’t think of standards and consistency until you have clear vision about why you are important to your audience and are able to distill that in the form of a phrase or brief paragraph. Starting with a vision will keep you on target as you plan and develop materials. Expect lots of distractions in the form of formatting settings, clipart, etc. that you will encounter along the way. Your ability to stay on target will be critical to your long term success.

think contextually and systemically

Your audience will very likely make decisions based on a variety of different elements working together— a personal connection, website, proposals, social media, etc. — so when possible build all of these things to work together. Creating a prioritized list of contact points with your audience and then creating success for those interactions is a great starting point.

Thinking in terms of interactions, beliefs, values, and benefits – instead of things – can also keep you on track. For example: don’t think of a logo in isolation, but think about, develop and judge your logo in the context of how supports a larger message that prompts your audience to act. It’s very easy for the logo discussion to consume all your energy and resources—a distraction, because your logo will rarely be seen in isolation. Thinking about how your audience sees things can keep you on target.

build for simplicity first and consistencysecond

Avoid the temptation to impose elaborate designs on services like MailChimp, Facebook, PowerPoint, and similar applications that change often.

follow the leader

Some people say good artists borrow but great artists steal. So be a great artist and find someone to copy and borrow from (in the planning stages) and then put them aside. As you gradually hone in your design and message, the choices you make will make your work unique and compelling in its own way.

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2014/09/organic-marketing/feed/0“I don’t love it, but I think it will grow on me.” The Shew Design contesthttp://shew-design.com/blog/2014/09/contest-identify-the-logo/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2014/09/contest-identify-the-logo/#commentsTue, 09 Sep 2014 16:00:58 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=5132The latest contest is simple. Correctly identify the logo described below by 10/3/2013 and you have a chance to win some creative and delicious things from us. We’ll randomly select a winner from the correct entries on 10/6. Good luck!

Though the logo is one of the most pervasive, widely-recognized logos in the world, it was initially not well received. “I don’t love it,” the client said. “But I think it will grow on me.”

The designer — a student at the time — was paid $35 for her efforts. She was later thanked in the form of the logo on a gold ring with a embedded diamond in addition to some company stock.

Imitators of this logo became so pervasive that its core feature is often identified as the dominant cliché of logo design in the 1990s.

The type used with the logo was set in all caps. The image was so easily recognized that the type was later removed—a process known as debranding. This was the first logo to be changed in this way.

[contact-form-7]

*required field

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2014/09/contest-identify-the-logo/feed/0experience as messagehttp://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/experience-as-message/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/experience-as-message/#commentsMon, 24 Jun 2013 17:01:32 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=4749Framing marketing communications in terms of experience opens up new opportunities for engaging your audience. Our Be in Bellingham campaign is one example of this thinking at work; another is a thank you promotion we recently completed for Shew Design.

This letterpressed card folds around the other cards, each with its own message.

The purpose of the project was to say thanks to clients and collaborators in a fun, memorable way. We wanted to avoid a traditional gift certificate because we thought the results would be treated as a replacement for money and would become just another transaction among many.

Instead, we framed the gift certificate in terms of audience experience. Creating a great experience begins with giving people something they like; we chose three perennial crowd pleasers: beer, chocolate, coffee.

These letterpressed cards enclosed inside the thank you card describe the experience of working with our clients and collaborators as a way of saying thanks.

Then we found local sources that provided high quality versions of those things in a fun way. For example: We think the Black Drop is the best local coffee source to be found, and we made one of our thank you messages a Black Drop experience. This would be: two coffee beverages of their choice and a pastry, requiring – in essence – a visit with a friend over coffee. You wouldn’t use the certificate for just another coffee on the go.

The backs of each card provide a recommendation for how it could be used.

In essence, the coupon mandates an experience, pleasantly guiding the audience into pausing, having a conversation while making their inner child happy by being able to pick anything on the menu from Bellingham’s best coffee shop without cost. The letterpressed card that provides the experience says that the audience – like the coffee they’re about to consume – is energizing.

Feelings and experiences – not things – are the subject the message.

By creating a trio of cards for different local businesses, we made it possible for our clients to journey from one location to another by foot – enjoying high quality, beer, chocolate, coffee in whatever order or speed they chose. DIY date night.

The process of framing the interaction in terms of personal experience provided an interesting departure from the customary gift certificate without significantly impacting the cost or process. The difference was thinking of the audience’s experience early in the process and having that guide every decision after.

Would your organization benefit from thinking of marketing interactions in this way? An outside perspective may help you reach a new potential in how you build connections with your audience. Contact us to start a dialog about how we can help you find fresh ways of creating engagement.

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/experience-as-message/feed/0experiences > thingshttp://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/4695/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/4695/#commentsMon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:08 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=4695A paradox of destination marketing is that while each destination is unique in its own way, the materials and messages people use for different destinations are often indistinguishable from one another.

In promoting Bellingham Whatcom County, we wanted to subtly rethink destination marketing to create work that departed from these expectations.

We started by making the audience the subject of the messaging – specifically the audience’s internal experience. This shift of focus allowed us talk more about experiences and less about activities and things. This subtly changed our approach to copy, adding an aspirational element to the message.

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism wanted an open ended concept – knowing that the diversity of experiences Whatcom County offers is this destination’s greatest strength.

The resulting campaign – “BE in Bellingham” – is simple and adaptable. The first part of it is tailored to the audience: “BE bold” for promoting racing events, “BE in awe” for promoting opportunities to experience nature, “BE indulged,” to promote food. The second part “BE in Bellingham” connects the different messages together. Other assets and messages worked alongside this concept, creating a unified presence that worked for brochures, print collateral, signage, print ads, and more. More examples of the campaign can be seen here.

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/4695/feed/0standing out, fitting inhttp://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/standing-out-fitting-in/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/standing-out-fitting-in/#commentsWed, 05 Jun 2013 15:00:43 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=4679“Just to make this stand out” is to design what “Trust me. This is going to work” is to buddy movies. Both phrases tend to lead to fiascoes of one kind or another.

Making things stand out – i.e. making things clash with their surroundings – can be a crucial part of design, but too often results in king of the hill outcomes where elements fight with one another, each competing to stand out.

Design shouldn’t just tell your audience what’s important. It should clearly convey what’s most important. It’s a two sided process that affects everything: for one thing to stand out, twenty others to have to fit in. The more rigorous your planning process of deciding your priorities, the crisper, more vibrant, and more accessible the end result will be.

Less is more.

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/06/standing-out-fitting-in/feed/0the new contest: more is lesshttp://shew-design.com/blog/2013/05/contest-too-much-information/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/05/contest-too-much-information/#commentsMon, 27 May 2013 16:05:28 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=4607

We’ve ruined six perfectly-good designs by adding some extra detail to “make them pop.” Find the hidden offender and a trio of chocolate bars and a Fresh Idea book may be yours. Send your answers to info@shew-design.com by June 30 with “contest” in the subject line. The one with the most right answers wins.

Winner announced July 1. Good luck!

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2013/05/contest-too-much-information/feed/0victory has a thousand parentshttp://shew-design.com/blog/2012/11/scoping-process-signage/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/11/scoping-process-signage/#commentsSat, 17 Nov 2012 18:08:04 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=4218Years ago, my initial interpretation of the phrase “victory has a thousand parents, but defeat is an orphan” was a cynical one. My take on it was that if a project goes well, people will claim responsibility. The same people will disavow their role if the project meets with a less favorable outcome.

As I reflect on this phrase, I see it has a second, more important meaning, a set of instructions. They are: successful projects are those that have many stakeholders. To create victory: find a thousand parents. Become one of the thousand.

Shew Design’s role in the success of Power Past Coal and the Bellingham Home Fund has been small. I feel others have been doing the heavy lifting in terms of the deeper strategic work, the ongoing planning and communications, hitting the pavement in dozens of different ways. Yet, it is immensely gratifying to be involved to in successful efforts and to see people using our designs to speak to the issues of the day. It’s a big reason why we signed up to be what we do.

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/11/scoping-process-signage/feed/0print intentionallyhttp://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/thinking-contextually/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/thinking-contextually/#commentsFri, 26 Oct 2012 18:13:42 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=3911Despite all predictions to the contrary, printed communications still play a crucial role in how organizations reach out to their audience.

Print has changed, though. It is now more an elective than a requirement, and like any choice it benefits from planning and thinking ahead. This can include details like a delivery strategy, or options for tailoring a message for a specific audience, and other special circumstances.

A recent project for the The Leopold retirement community brought some of this thinking into play. After talking with the client, we realized that the decision to enter a retirement community usually unfolds as part of a conversation with a family or group. We thought of the folder as a prop for facilitating these conversations, speaking to both the concerns and benefits of this choice.

The folder interior was never intended to be the primary message. Rather, it supports the brochures, calendars, and other informational pieces. It also supports the family member or sales person taking with the possible Leopold resident.

If we were thinking of this project working in isolation (e.g. without this social context) we would have opted for a more traditional approach – talking about the Leopold, its history, and amenities, etc. With thousands of the folder being printed in advance, the message would have to be carefully tailored so that any specifics mentioned would be accurate perhaps as long as five or six years.

As it turns out, this concept ensures that the folder will work for the long term, and that other elements (such as the brochures) can be revised as details change. As elements of a larger system, these pieces help create an organized, appealing marketing presence for The Leopold that can be used for years to come.

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/thinking-contextually/feed/0clean up your navigation through analyticshttp://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/clean-up-your-navigation-through-analytics/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/clean-up-your-navigation-through-analytics/#commentsWed, 24 Oct 2012 23:39:01 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=4033Most things are more complicated than they need to be. Navigation is no exception.

You can fairly easily see what links people use on your website using traffic evaluation tools such as Google Analytics. More importantly, these tools can show you which links people don’t visit.

This can help you make informed decisions about revising your navigation, ideally creating the fewest possible meaningful choices for your audience. Making the right choices shows your audience you respect their time; making the wrong ones communicates the reverse. This is another case of “less is more.”

Here’s a fairly simple process that can help you make more informed decisions.

From Analytics, pull up the Content menu and select In-Page Analytics. The page that appears lets you see how people interact with the site either as color (with hotter colors indicating more activity) or as a percentage of total clicks.

Our website makeover process begins with evaluating site traffic in this way. It is not uncommon to see that some links appearing on every single page of a website have been used only a handful of times in a year. A site revision begins with asking why this is the case and then correcting the problem. Let your audience show you the way!

]]>http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/clean-up-your-navigation-through-analytics/feed/0artwalk with ushttp://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/artwalk-with-shew-design/
http://shew-design.com/blog/2012/10/artwalk-with-shew-design/#commentsThu, 04 Oct 2012 18:53:19 +0000http://shew-design.com/blog/?p=3917It’s the first Friday of the month. Where will you typically find us that night? At Bellingham’s Artwalk. Downtown is bustling with people going from gallery to gallery, taking breaks for a drink or a meal. Everyone has their list of favorite places to go – we thought we would share ours.

First things first. One needs refreshment before embarking on Artwalk. Depending on our energy level, we might stop for a delicious caffeinated beverage at The Black Drop, checking out their feature art while waiting.

But often, winding down is more our mood. Many choices for this – including our office.

Last month we got a late start, and the sunset was the first piece of art we saw on our way to the Blue Horse Gallery.

We particularly liked the thick, chunky strokes in Willow Bader’s paintings, featured at the Blue Horse.

Then it’s down the hill to the Waterfront Artist Studios. This is a unique opportunity to see artist’s work, where they work.

Paper is meticulously cut out by hand with an exacto knife to create some of his layered paper works.

Downstairs at Make Shift, the studios open up and show some of their work. The below mural greets you as you make your way down the stairs.

A variety of work can be seen in the basement studios.

The Bellingham Alternative Library has relocated to this space. If you have never been, it’s definitely worth going to browse their shelves.

Always keeping our eyes open, sometimes we find art where we wouldn’t expect it. It appears the Granary Building was requesting some help from The Caped Crusader.

We might wind down the evening with a nightcap at our office, where we have started a small collection of local artist’s work. These paintings by Andrea Heimer were some of the first things we hung in our office when we moved in.